Health Insurance And Diabetes

Health Insurance And Diabetes

If you have diabetes, you know that the costs of managing your disease can pile up. Following are some health insurance considerations you should address if you have diabetes.

Health insurance choices may be limited by your pre-existing condition. Determine health insurance policies available in your state for diabetics. While there is currently federal legislation that will be helpful to diabetics if it takes effect in 2014, as of now health insurance policy choices may be limited by your pre-existing condition. There are also policies that are more expensive to obtain for those with diabetes.

Testing supplies are usually covered with a co-pay by health insurance plans. Health insurance plans vary as to the amount of co-pay and what types of test strips and blood glucose meters they cover. If your plan does not cover the type of supplies you prefer or changes the type of testing supplies it covers, you might want to consider changing plans. All plans require a prescription for diabetes supplies and many require that you get pre-approval to cover your supplies in order to qualify for insurance coverage.

Today's focus on prevention of diabetes, and specifically type 2 diabetes, means that there are many government-funded education programs that will likely be available to you in your state. If you have diabetes, you should research on your state government website what types of educational materials and programs are available to you. You can also use federal government websites to direct you to helpful resources. These resources can also include diet and exercise recommendations that are appropriate for you.

Complications from diabetes can lead to the need for expensive medical treatments. You will want to select insurance plans that have higher lifetime limits rather than lower lifetime limits in case you have a need for such treatments. It should be noted that provisions of the Affordable Care Act will address lifetime limits if they remain law until the effective date of such provisions.

Diabetes medication is expensive. Diabetics should consider what his or her health insurance plan will cover. If the plan's coverage is inadequate, consider researching whether the drug company that produces your prescribed medication has an assistance program for patients. Participation in such programs is often established by your physician on your behalf meaning that you won't contact the pharmaceutical company yourself.

If you have diabetes, you should also consider that dental insurance is frequently a separate purchase for individuals. If you have diabetes, you should have dental insurance because of the increased risks of tooth decay and gum disease that you face; these can end up being extremely costly to treat.

Psychiatric or psychological counseling services are available through most health insurance plans with varying amounts of co-payments. While living with diabetes can present some unique challenges and emotional difficulties for individuals, counseling will be covered by insurance the same as counseling is for the non-diabetic insured population of a specific insurer.

Diabetes can present some specialized health insurance needs for people. Use the tips above to consider what type of health insurance coverage will best help you get the healthcare you need if you have diabetes.